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Sunday, January 23, 2011

In Bruges

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In Bruges is a 2008 British/Irish black comedy crime film, directed and written by Martin McDonagh. The film stars Colin Farrell and Brendan Gleeson as hitmen in hiding, with Ralph Fiennes as their gangster boss. The film takes place—and was filmed[1]—within the Belgian city of Bruges. In Bruges was the opening night film of the 2008 Sundance Film Festival.[2] The film opened in limited release in the United States on 8 February 2008; premiered at theJameson Dublin International Film Festival on 15 February 2008; later went on full release in Ireland on 7 March 2008; and opened 18 April 2008 in the United Kingdom.
Colin Farrell won a Golden Globe Award for Best Actor in a Musical or Comedy for the film, while Martin McDonagh won a BAFTA Award for Best Original Screenplay.

Plot

Two hitmen hide out in the city of Bruges, and amidst the city's storybook background they come to terms with issues of guilt, morality, and redemption.
During his first job, rookie hitman Ray (Colin Farrell) accidentally kills a young boy. He and his senior colleague Ken (Brendan Gleeson) are sent to Bruges by their employer Harry Waters (Ralph Fiennes), and told to await further instructions. While Ken takes in the sights and historic medieval buildings, Ray is morose and withdrawn, wracked with guilt over being responsible for the death of a child (Theo Stevenson). One night, while observing a film shoot with the dwarf actor Jimmy (Jordan Prentice), Ray strikes up a romance with Chloë (Clémence Poésy), a local drug dealer and thief, moonlighting as a production assistant. On a date, Ray gets involved in a fistfight with a couple from Canada (Željko Ivanek and Stephanie Carey), mistaking them for Americans. Later that night, Chloë's former boyfriend Eirik (Jérémie Renier) threatens Ray with a handgun loaded with blanks, but Ray disarms him and shoots Eirik in the eye, partially blinding him.
Despite his budding romance with Chloë, Ray's guilt at his accidental killing of the boy continues to haunt him. Ken finally receives a call from Harry, who orders him to kill Ray on the principle that the killing of a child — even accidentally — is unforgivable. He would expect the same penalty if it happened to him, as Harry is a family man himself. Ken retrieves a handgun from Harry's local Belgian contact and tracks Ray to a park. As Ken sneaks up behind Ray to kill him, he sees Ray is about to shoot himself. His concern for his young charge overrides his sense of duty to their employer, and Ken prevents Ray's suicide. Ken then confesses to Ray that he had been ordered by Harry to kill Ray, although Ken denies that he intended to go through with the execution. While the two discuss the situation, Ken disarms Ray and convinces him to leave the city and the business. Following Ray's departure, Ken calls Harry, reveals his insubordination and location, and abruptly hangs up. An enraged Harry immediately heads to Bruges, where he gets a gun from his contact.
Before Ray's train has travelled far from the city, he is arrested for assaulting the Canadian couple and escorted back to Bruges. Ken and Harry meet for a drink, before ascending the steps of Bruges' belfry. At the top of the carillon tower, Ken declares that Ray deserves a chance at redemption, but refuses to fight Harry in defense of his own life. Harry, while furious, takes pity on Ken and shoots him in the leg rather than kill him. Meanwhile, Chloë bails Ray out of jail, and the two share a drink on the market square beneath the belfry. When Eirik informs Harry of Ray's location, Ken fights with Harry for Ray's sake, and is shot in the neck. Harry descends the steps to confront Ray, leaving Ken. Seriously wounded, Ken drags himself back to the top of the carillon tower and searches for Harry in an attempt to shoot him before he harms Ray, but due to fog, he cannot see from the tower. Ken decides to jump off with his gun, hoping to allow Ray to use it in his defence. After first scattering coins to clear the area below of people, he jumps and lands in the plaza, living just long enough to warn Ray of Harry's arrival. However, the gun is shattered by the fall.
Ray flees back to the hotel for his gun, which Ken had stashed in a drawer in their room. Harry arrives soon after, but Marie, the pregnant owner (Thekla Reuten) of the hotel refuses to allow him up the stairs. Shouting through the stairwell, both men agree that Ray will try to flee from the back of the hotel, and Harry will run after him and shoot him if he can. Ray jumps on to a passing boat and loses his gun in the process. Ray looks back in time to see Harry drawing down on him from a bridge, but doubts that Harry will be able to make the shot due to the distance. Despite the long range, Harry fires and hits Ray in the abdomen. Harry pursues the now-wounded Ray through the streets before stumbling onto the film set, where Jimmy is in costume as a schoolboy. Harry shoots Ray another three times and in the process inadvertently shoots Jimmy in the head. Mistaking Jimmy's headless body for that of a child, Harry commits suicide on principle despite Ray's attempts to explain. The gravely-wounded Ray is lifted onto an ambulance as he sees Marie, Eirik and Chloë in turn. Once in the ambulance, Ray considers prison or death as sufficient recompense, but then wonders if hell consists of staying in Bruges forever, at which point he says he hopes to live. He then slips into unconsciousness, leaving his fate unclear.

[edit]Cast

[edit]Film references

The plot bears notable similarities to Harold Pinter's one-act play The Dumb Waiter.[3] The film also contains many references to Don't Look Now,[4] including the claim by Chloë that the film-within-a-film is a homage to that film.
Ken is seen watching the beginning of Orson Welles' Touch of Evil, with its notable continuous take of a car bombing. This precedes a six-minute tracking shot of Ken speaking on the telephone with Harry, where Harry instructs Ken to assassinate Ray.
The layout of Harry Water's desk and chair in his office at home are very similar to the layout of the office in the Corleone family home in The Godfather.

[edit]Sights of Bruges

The Last Judgement
The Flaying of Sisamnes
At one point, Ken and Ray visit the Groeningemuseum and see Hieronymus Bosch's painting The Last Judgement. Actors in the "film-within-a-film" wear costumes resembling elements of the painting, creating a symbolism of Bruges as heaven, purgatory, and/or hell.
In the museum, Ray views the painting The Flaying of the Corrupt Judge Sisamnes (1498) by Gerard David.

[edit]Critical reception

The film received generally favourable reviews from critics. As of September 2009, the review aggregator Rotten Tomatoes reported that 81% of critics gave the film positive reviews, based on 152 reviews.[5] Metacritic reported that the film had an average score of 67 out of 100, based on 34 reviews.[6] Chicago Sun-Times film critic Roger Ebert gave the film high praise and a four-out-of-four-star rating, saying, "This film debut by the theater writer and director Martin McDonagh is an endlessly surprising, very dark, human comedy, with a plot that cannot be foreseen but only relished."[7]
Critics also praised the performances of the three stars. Farrell and Gleeson received Golden Globe nominations for Best Actor in a Musical or Comedy, with Farrell winning the award. Farrell also received numerous other nominations for his work.

[edit]Awards

In Bruges was nominated for a total of seven awards by the British Independent Film Awards,[8] including nominations for The Douglas Hickox Award for Best Debut Director, Best Actor, and Best Screenplay, the latter of which it won.[9] It was also been nominated for two IPA Satellite Awards for Best Actor (Brendan Gleeson) and Motion Picture (Comedy or Musical).[10]
In November 2008, Martin McDonagh won the Irish Playwrights and Screenwriters Guild (IPSG) award for Best Film Script for In Bruges.[11]
The film was also nominated for the 2008 Golden Globe Award for Best Motion Picture — Musical or Comedy, and both Brendan Gleeson and Colin Farrell were nominated for Best Performance by an Actor in a Motion Picture (Comedy or Musical),[12] which Farrell won at the 66th Golden Globe Awards ceremony, broadcast on 11 January 2009.[13] McDonagh won the Best Screenplay BAFTA Award in February 2009.[14]
The film was nominated for an Academy Award for Best Original Screenplay in 2009 but lost to Milk.[15]. In the same year, it won the Irish Film and Television Awards for Best International Film.

[edit]Home media

The film was released on DVD in Region 1 on 24 June 2008, Region 2 on 11 August 2008 and Region 4 on 21 January 2009. It was also released on Blu-ray Disc on 27 January 2009, and in Region 1 on July 13, 2010 [1].

[edit]Soundtrack

Lakeshore Records released the film's soundtrack album, featuring the score by Carter Burwell.



  1. Prologue (1:17)
  2. Medieval Waters (1:40)
  3. The Little Dead Boy (1:46)
  4. St. John the Gambler - Townes Van Zandt (3:03)
  5. The Last Judgement (1:52)
  6. View from the Tower (1:04)
  7. My Suicide Your Homicide (1:38)
  8. Brandy Alexander - The Walkmen (2:30)
  9. Save the Next Boy (1:19)
  10. Ray at the Mirror (1:19)
  11. Walking Bruges (:36)
  12. The Magic Frog (:50)
  13. Schubert: 'Der Leiermann' from Winterreise: Andreas Schmidt (baritone) and Rudolf Jansen (piano) (3:40)
  14. Harry Walks (1:22)
  15. Dressing for Death (1:11)
  16. The Kiss Walk Past (1:04)
  17. Raglan Road - The Dubliners (4:15)
  18. Thugs Passing in the Night (1:13)
  19. Shootout Part 1 (2:10)
  20. When He's Dead (1:08)
  21. Shootout Part 2 (2:44)
  22. Principles (1:25)
  23. I Didn't Want to Die (1:35)
  24. 2000 Miles - The Pretenders (3:38)

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